Thornber, Ernest Garfield
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | Ernest Garfield |
Surname | Thornber |
Gender | M |
Age | 27 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 03-05-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Ernest James Thornber and Laura Maude Thornber, of St. Vital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Lockheed Ventura I |
Serial Number | AE780 |
Markings | EG-S |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 69. Row C. Coll. grave 9. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 253 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/13792 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 2 |
Squadron | 487 (New Zealand) |
Trade | Navigator |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Thornber Lake, Manitoba; 2km east of Sipiwesk Lake |
Country | Canada |
Memorial Type | Lake |
Memorial Text |
Miscellaneous Information
Operation Rodeo 212 was a diversionary raid by 11 Group, on Vlissingen. It cost 487 Squadron 11 Venturas |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1979/3 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1935/13 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 03-05-1943 |
End Date | 03-05-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Methwold |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Operation Ramrod 16- to attack a power station on the northern outskirts of Amsterdam. An exceptional number of experienced fighter pilots were present at Schipol airfield for a conference and they were scrambled following the earlier Spitfire sweep of the area. Nine of the aircraft were shot down, leaving a sole Ventura to press on and bomb the target (since one had turned back early). The last one was then shot down, meaning a loss rate of 90.9%- the highest of the war. S/L Trent, the pilot of the Ventura that pressed on, was awarded a VC for his bravery. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down in the NW suburbs of Amsterdam |